Laura Mvula in The Big Top at Cheltenham Jazz Festival

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They’re such a polite bunch at Cheltenham – where else do you see orderly queues forming at the bar, instead of the usual elbow scrum?

Inside the Big Top, it was every bit as well-mannered – almost reverential silence for the jazz festival’s artist in residence, who may hail from just up the M5 but had only recently flown in from the States.

The music was every bit as sublime; complex layers of strings, percussion and wonderful harmonies from the fabulous band, which includes her talented siblings.

“You’re all very well behaved,” she laughed, with another flash of her infectious smile.

Laura’s own clear, bewitching voice cut through the air as the audience sat there, mesmerised.

The crowd seemed to hold their breath for the likes of Flying Without You (“every set has to have a heartbreak song”), She and Diamonds (during the latter you really could have heard the proverbial pin drop), but took up Mvula’s call to join her on stage for the upbeat and sexy Green Garden.

“I was only joking,” she later laughed as two dozen or so friends and fans returned to their seats.

The crowd were soon back on their feet for That’s Alright and the encore – a well-deserved ovation for a truly unforgettable night.

It’s been an incredible 12 months for the girl from Kings Heath, and if this set is anything to go by, 2014 and beyond promises more awards, treasures and memories for a homegrown talent who’s surely set to become a global star.